'Orange Mittai' made with no creative compromises: Biju Vishwanath

Filmmaker Biju Vishwanath says his Tamil directorial debut "Orange Mittai" has been made without any creative compromises by keeping aside the star status of actor Vijay Sethupathi, who is also its producer.

"Vijay and I teamed up to make a good film. We've made 'Orange Mittai' on a very creative level without any compromises. He never let his stardom intervene in the filmmaking process," Vishwanath told IANS.

"There are two kinds of actors. Good actors and intelligent actors. I think Vijay belongs to the second type; hence it's very easy and creatively satisfying to work with him. I had a wonderful experience," he added.

The award winning filmmaker has made nine American films, several short films in foreign languages and has also won international awards. His film "Deja Vu" was the only other Indian film, apart from "Lagaan", to make it to the Locarno Film Festival.

He also has one film each in Malayalam and Sinhala to his credit.

Biju and Vijay, who had known each other for quite a while, had planned to work together a few years ago.

"I had known Vijay even before he became an actor. We were to do this project five or six years ago but we couldn't find a producer. It's one of the reasons why Vijay decided to produce this film on his own because we wanted to make a film that'll make us happy," he added.

Biju describes "Orange Mittai" as a "bittersweet" comedy.

"It's not a road film as its being speculated. It's the journey of three characters in an ambulance, but not the entire film. It's basically about the relationship of a father and son," he said.

"It's about these two guys working in an ambulance. They have to take care of an old man, played by Vijay, who is really tough to handle. What happens between these characters forms the crux of the story," he added.

Having predominantly made international films, Biju didn't find working in a regional film challenging.

"I think every film will have a set of challenges, which are internal part of the filmmaking process. It could be the budget or weather and so on. Otherwise, I didn't find anything more challenging. I'm lucky to have found a supporting actor and producer," he said.

Currently in post-production phase, "Orange Mittai", which also features Ramesh, Arumugam, Jayaprakash and Aswitha in important roles, is slated for release next year.